Hockey Tips
Better Puck Control Begins With Your Training APPROACH
Close your eyes and stickhandle. Gently sweep and cradle the puck side to side, with soft hands. Welcome to hockey, you are now operating by FEEL, a skill vital for on ice confidence and control. Our stick is an extension of our arms and we want the same coordination and FEEL with the stick blade as we have with our fingers. You should hear very little when you control the puck. Treat the puck as if it was an egg, cradling it with flowing wrist, shoulder, and forearm movement. Control the puck, don't let it control you and NEVER over handle the puck.....EVER. Sounds simple, so why can creatively controlling the puck with control be so challenging? What can be done to maximize puck handling performance on the ice? First of all, mastering any skill in hockey requires focused training and repetition of correct technique. Successful hockey players are "smart" hockey players and "smart" players train OUT of their "Comfort Zone". Our "Comfort Zone" is a zone many players become accustomed to, where body momentum determines the outcome rather than YOU telling your body what to do. It is simply moving in a way that "just happens" on the ice. This destructive approach stems from a lack of on ice confidence, which often results from poor specialized skills instruction. Doing what comes natural, or what feels good on the ice is almost always wrong. Hockey is a challenging game riddled with precise movements. We all are born to move on land in a simple upright posture. However, on the ice, we must "TRAIN" to create thrust, control our body movements, and to be aware of what's going on around us, often while controlling the puck. Understand your boundaries, then continually aim to expand them by training OUT of your "Comfort Zone". Now the game becomes even MORE fun! Next question. How are your skating skills? Do not be quick to answer "fine", as most stickhandling difficulties stem from skating weaknesses. We can all name our favorite puck handlers. I personally get a chill watching players like Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov control not only the puck, but frequently the entire flow of the game through magical stickhandling. What do the best puck handlers on the Planet have in common other than sharing the same last letter of their last name "v", or speaking English as a second language? They can all skate like the wind. They define grace and beauty, poetry and control. They all have confidence when they lace up the skates, and a lot of it! As a spectator, when watching a player "control the puck", or "dangle", do not watch the puck. Rather, focus on their body control. Take note of how their hands and feet, arms and legs, vision and awareness all work TOGETHER. Developing correct skating technique will improve your "on ice " confidence, which in turn will allow you to develop your stickhandling skills much more quickly. Many of us learn our stickhandling skills at the same time we learn our skating skills, which is the same time we learn to shoot and pass, and learn the rules of the game, and learn how to prepare for a big game, and learn how to work with our teammates. You can see what happens, we become "fine" at most things, instead of "great" at everything. The Europeans and Russians in general, learn their skills sequentially, by stressing fundamentals. They have great hockey instructors who understand the game and teach it in a logical, building block order, one skill at a time.
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Slide Board Exercises
T push
Use the Slide Board to do a T-push. Point your glide foot up the Slide so that it forms a T with the pushing foot. This actually will train for a straight ahead stride rather than a more lateral stride which is the normal push on the Slide Board.
Mountain Climber
Grab one of the bumpers with both hands and tuck your legs under your body. Alternate pushing your legs out one at a time during a timed interval or a number of reps.
Slide With Lunge
Use this exercise to develop extra leg strength. At the completion of each slide, step ahead with your inside foot into a lunge. Be explosive and step up as quickly as possible.
Slide With Ground Touch
This exercise helps build a deeper knee bend. At the completion of each slide bend down and touch the ground on the bumper side.
Slide With Crossover
The Slide Board can be used for crossover training. At the completion of the slide cross you inside leg under you outside leg and touch toe on the ground. Good exercise for balance and muscle memory.
Slide Boarding & Stickhandling
With the board it is possible to use your stick and handle the puck while sliding.
Slide Boarding For Goalies
Slide Boarding is a must for goalie training. All the slides can be set to 6ft which is the distance from post to post. Have someone shoot or throw a ball and practice sliding across to make the save with blocker or glove.
Slow And Low
Do some reps with this idea in mind.
Stationary Skating
Stand in the middle of the Slide Board. From this position push out as if you are skating. Practice good form and control. A good exercise as you remain completely still which makes balancing tougher then when moving. Vary the angle of your pushing leg to increase range of motion.
Stretching
Use the board to work on flexibility and range of motion by incorporating stretching. Good stretches can be achieved with the low friction surface.
Dynamic Push-up
Place the Booties on your hands and do push-ups on the Slide surface.
Balance & Agility
After pushing off the Slide bumper try a 180 or 360 spin which will enhance balance and agility. Please use caution when attempting spins, use protective equipment and a spotter.
Slide Board Tips
1) Try using the Slide Board in front of a mirror. It is amazing how much form improves when there is some visual/instant feedback. Knees are never bent as much as we think until we see for ourselves.
2) Another great idea is to use video. The benefit of this is that the stride and form can be played back and broken down. The video camera can also be used in the live function and this way with the help of a TV instant feedback can be achieved. The beauty of this is that the camera can be fixed on any area you choose while you look ahead at the TV.
3) Use a fan to stay cool and to aid in keeping intensity high. Also, keep a water bottle close by to keep well hydrated.
4) Music works great for interval training and circuit training. Make a tape that you can use for your workout that changes to a different song or to moments of no music every 30 secs or minute which can let you keep track of the time. The music can get you pumped up and keep you from staring at a clock/watch during your workout.
Cardio
If you are working at getting a cardio workout then start at 12-15 mins straight and work up from there. This should be done at a moderate pace at first and then working up to a harder pace. It is possible to have a continuous workout while varying the intensity for periods in this cycle much like an automated exercise bike will do. Varying the exercising during this continuous period is also effective. For instance, slow and low for a couple of minutes followed by a slide with ground touch followed by t-push sliding.
Interval Training
Work: rest ratio 1:2 to 1:3 meaning that a 1 minute interval should be followed by a 2 minute to 3 minute rest period. During this rest period try to stay active by sliding at an easy pace or removing the Slide Board Booties and walking around. Try to do these intervals at a 100% intensity but keeping good form and control. If you feel you can keep good control and form and achieve 100% intensity then your interval should be shorter. While if you feel to keep good control and form your intensity drops to say 60% then you should have a longer interval. Do three to 4 reps with a longer rest between sets.
Circuit Training
Circuit training also works well with the Slide Board. When doing this type of workout it is typical that each work interval be followed by a rest equal to one half of that period. Keep in mind that is important to work different muscles in this sequence. For example 1 minute on the Slide Board followed by a 30 sec. rest, followed by 30 secs. of pushups(if that can be reached), followed by a 15 sec. rest, followed by 1 minute of abdominal crunches followed by a 30 sec. rest, followed by 30 secs. on the Slide Board doing the mountain climber exercise followed by 15 sec. rest and so on. Longer rest between sets.
Be Creative And Keep It Up
I hope you are getting the idea on the different ways that the Slide Board can be used. My best advice is that through the exercises and tips sheet and the manual come up with a program that you can follow and change as you like to get the best results. Keep in mind it is not necessary to overdo it. Any work that you do on the Slide Board will be a benefit and being able to enjoy yourself and keeping up the conditioning is the important concept here. Please use all information as a guideline only.
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